Accidental Attraction
by NightOwl360
Summary: Attraction wasn't what Rin was expecting when she became hostage to one of Gotham City's most notorious criminals. Trapped against the law, the bat, and their own scars is it possible for something more than Stockholm Syndrome to flourish between them?
1. Dash

Disclaimer/claimer: I do not own Batman or any of those characters associated with him.

I do, however, own Rin and those original characters associated with her.

* * *

Accidental Attraction

* * *

Outside rain drummed an unremitting beat on the high metal roof while inside one diminutive figure attempted to flip her uncooperative mass of wet hair out of her eyes. At least, she thought, they'd gotten out of the torrent, even if it was only for a moment.

"No sign of him, Boss. I think you really toasted him this time." A tall, heavy-set man slipped across the broken concrete floor with surprising stealth. His droopy mud colored eyes focused on her with intensity she was uncomfortably familiar with, and she took and instinctive step back.

"Don't under estimate the Bat." This voice was deep and gravely, and belonged to the man holding, with nearly bruising force, to her wrist.

"What about her?" Droopy-eyes asked, his gaze never wavering.

"What _about_ her?"

"We don't need her anymore. Let me kill her now, before she causes any more trouble."

She couldn't be certain, it _was_ dark, but the look that droopy-eyes was giving her suggested that killing her wasn't the only thing he wanted to do. A small flare of panic began to rise in her chest and she fiercely shoved it away. She'd given her word that she wouldn't cry or plead, she would do as she was told and not try to escape. Because she'd been convincing, and damn lucky, Trina was safe with her husband.

It was enough. She could do this for everything that Trina had given back to her by her simple offer of friendship. A life for a life, and an impossible debt could be repaid. _Two_ lives, Rin reminded herself, _not just for her now._ Aunt Rin would have had a very nice ring to it.

She felt a prickle at the back of her neck and looked up to find him staring at her with an unreadable expression on his ruined face. Which personality was she staring at, she wondered, and decided it must be the psychotic one. Which, then, had taken her offer? Which had sworn not to hurt her if she came along quietly?

Two-Face's stare snapped back to Mr. Droopy-Eyes and the scarred profile that was visible to her seemed to twist into a harsher sneer than it had been set in before. It would be fascinating, if it weren't so scary.

"I'll decide when we don't need her anymore." He growled and pulled hard on her wrist as he stared moving across the small, derelict warehouse. What was it with criminal masterminds and abandoned warehouses? There were other abandoned things after all. Hospitals, hotels… schools. One would think that a man with two personalities would have twice the creativity.

Rin stumbled on something in the dark and crashed against a wall when Two-Face swung her around. He leaned in close enough she could feel his breath on her face and squeezed her wrist painfully.

"Don't move from this spot unless we tell you."

She nodded mutely, and was surprised when he let her go. She didn't so much as look around until he turned and stalked away. She was surprised to find that she was right beside one of the exits, the door of which had been left very slightly ajar to invite in the cold and damp. She shivered and wrapped her bare arms around herself, whishing she had dressed more warmly tonight.

Go out and have fun, they said. Yeah, this night had been a whole lot of freaking fun. An odd sound startled her out of her musings, and she looked up to see the broad form of her captor dragging something towards her. Was it too much to hope that it was the body of Mr. Droopy-Eyes? Alas, no, it was a crate.

"I see shock has finally set it." He rasped as he settled the crate beside her. She really hoped he wasn't going to put her into it. She was probably small enough to fit inside, but it didn't sound altogether pleasant. If she were going to be killed she'd prefer it somewhere she'd be found in enough time to look pretty at her funeral.

"Huh?" She asked dumbly,

"You're shaking."

"Not shock." She muttered through chattering teeth, sounding ever so much like the eloquent twenty-three-year-old English major that she was. "Just cold."

The light from a few still working streetlamps was filtered through grimy windows set high above, it wasn't much, and so it was very difficult to make out his expression when he looked at her. He said nothing, only stood to his full height and stared. Conferring with his other half? Maybe, but it wasn't anymore a comforting thought than the fact that he hadn't reached for his coin yet.

Rin looked down, studying her pale feet in the bare dirt. She hoped there wasn't anything too unsavory on the floor. A doctor's visit was defiantly forthcoming if she lived through this. Survive the madman, die from tetanus, that'd be a brilliant legacy.

Movement caught her eye and she jumped when Two-Face's arms came up and settled something around her shoulders. The jacket was warm and smelled of something spicy and exotic. She barely reached above the middle of his chest, which was quite nice judging by the way the white button up shirt clung to him.

"That better?" He murmured,

"Yes… thank you." Articulation, thy name is Rin.

He remained silent but surprised her again by running his large hand through her short wine colored hair, pushing the dripping strands away from her face. She was speechless, flabbergasted, astounded, and several other large words she knew.

The former District Attorney turned back to the crate picked up what appeared to be a crowbar, it was hard to tell in the dark, but she was certain that's what it was.

"Why'd you do it anyway?" he rasped in a low, preoccupied tone.

"Excuse me?"

"Trade yourself for the blond."

Rin shrugged, pulling the coat around her more securely. She thought of Katrina and her long blond curls, all blue eyes and confidence, so happy and in love with her computer nerd of a husband.

"She has family, and a husband who would miss her. I don't have anyone, so it seemed to me like a better deal. I owe her." Owed her, Rin mused, because she had turned self-imposed exile into a fresh start. Showed her how to remake herself into who she _wanted_ to be, instead of who she had been made into.

Two-Face pulled the lid off the crate and was rifling through it's contents, whatever they were. He grunted, she wasn't sure if it was in response to her or whatever he was looking at. It wasn't, she thought, an irritated sound. Distracted maybe, and she hoped he stayed that way.

"That the only reason?" He said as he pulled something out of the crate and examined it. What did he want to know, she wondered. She shrugged and, because what did she have to lose really, decided to be straight with him.

"She's pregnant." There was a loud, metallic clang, as he dropped the object and his head snapped over to her, "She hadn't even told William yet. What could I do? She has a good husband, baby on the way, and a brilliant career ahead of her. She has a lot to live for, and a lot of people who'd mourn." Rin lifted her eyes up, focusing on the dirty, rain-spattered skylights. "I don't have anyone _but_ them."

Two-Face snorted and snatched several unidentifiable objects out of the box, then he stepped over and loomed over her. She could almost feel the vibration in his chest as he growled,

"Don't move from there." He was gone without giving her time to respond. She considered for a moment making her escape through the door, but decided against it. Either Two-Face or Mr. Droopy-Eyes would probably catch her before she got the door halfway open.

No, it would be best to stick to her word and not try to escape. She didn't mind dying, really. Either he would kill her, or he would let her go, and she found she really didn't mind leaving her fate up to a coin toss. Jamie was dead, there was no bringing him back and Rin hadn't cared a whit about her own future since.

Lost in her musings, Rin didn't notice the approach until a hand gripped yanked her chin up and she locked gazes with Mr. Droopy-Eyes. A sick wave of fear churned up inside her, and dissipated just as quickly with the knowledge that he'd brought himself close enough for her to bring her knee sharply into his groin if she had a mind to.

"Thinking of running, girlie?" His breath blew over her face, a foul combination of cheap cigarettes and cheaper beer. Instinctively her nose wrinkled and she tried to draw her head back.

"No."

"Good, you wouldn't make it three feet past the door." He sneered, gaze dropping to the unfortunately low neckline of her favorite dress. She'd burn the damn thing if she lived long enough. His expression changed, and she wondered if Two-Face would shoot her for incapacitating his flunky. "Remember, girlie, you have to do what we tell you, so I'm telling you to come with me quietly."

"I don't think that _you_ weren't actually included in that _we_. And besides _they_ are much scarier than you." She said, resisting as he seized her arm and started to pull.

"She's right." Two-Face's gravel-toned voice cut out of the dark. Rin could make out the soft ping, ping, ping of the flipping coin above the rain, but his footsteps were silent. "On both accounts."

The swell of relief was as irrational, she knew, as the gratitude she directed toward the scarred man still holding her hostage. Better this one, she thought, the only thing he would do was kill her. Two-Face switched his gaze to her and held out a heavily scarred hand.

Do or die… do and die.

No. No, her inclination had not changed. She would continue to live as recklessly as she pleased until she found substantial reason not to. She could die at the hands of this man, because he was unlikely to… and Trina safe, that's what was important.

She walked around Mr. Droopy-Eyes without looking at him and let Two-Face's hand swallow hers. She wondered, nonsensically, if it was that he was a very big man or if she were really quite tiny. She felt a strange sensation tingle up her arm, something pleasant and unexplainable.

"Why aren't you scared?" He asked, pulling her closer. He smelled of rain and wind, and a musky man-smell she found to be not unpleasant. She considered him, looking up into the scared, sneering face that had once been angelically handsome.

"I've nothing to lose by dying."

* * *

Not sure where I'm going with this just yet. I have a few ideas, but it's yet another of my pet projects. I like these two and am certainly going to do more when them as inspiration hits. Two-Face has always been my favorite batman bag guy because not only is there two of him, but he was such good friends with Bruce before. I think there is definitely something redeemable in his character, even in his darker half.

I should also say that I'm a total sucker for big, dangerous, scarred men o^.^o


	2. Heat

Accidental Attraction: Heat

* * *

Harvey lit a cigarette and considered the girl who sat primly in the folding chair beside him at the card table. She hadn't resisted when he'd tied her hands, and hadn't struggled against the bonds. There hadn't been a peep from her since the warehouse, and for some reason that was beginning to annoy him.

She wasn't looking at him, either, which was irritating his counterpart. Instead she was staring contemplatively at her bounds wrists, lost deep in thought. She didn't like being tied. It was the only thing that had dislodged her carefully calm expression into something that wasn't quite fear.

Wisps of dark red hair were beginning to fall across her forehead again, looking just a bit like ribbons of blood. His eyes drifted to the full and inviting mouth, and down along the slim throat.

Her body was suited to itself, proportional. She was petite without looking ill, and her breasts were full and pleasingly displayed in the low, tight confines of the short black dress she wore. A thin silver oval hung from a delicate chain around her neck, with something engraved across the front.

As if sensing his stare, her eyes tilted and the head came up to catch his unashamed gaze. The eyes were large and gray and in them he saw intelligence and maturity that contrasted with the supple youth of her form. Color brightened her face charmingly, but she didn't look away.

"What's your name." He rasped at her, leaning against the back of the chair. The coin flipped through the air rhythmically, and for a moment her eyes followed it.

"Rinslet Lyre." She paused, a small smirk twitching at her mouth, "I prefer Rin, though."

"Pretty name." He reached out and brushed a few strands of hair away from her face, surprised when she didn't pull back. It had been different in the warehouse, it had been dark and she couldn't see him clearly. Now she was looking at him full on, and there was no revulsion in her eyes.

She was nothing that he, or his other side, had expected. From the moment she had stepped in front of her blond friend and stared at him with a gun pressed to her forehead, to just now there was no fear, no worry; nothing but endless calm. Now she looked into the face that had sent his fiancée into a dead faint, and she did so without even a glimmer of disgust.

She showed more aversion for Kepler than she did for the man who argued with himself regularly. It wasn't fear, not exactly, but more like an instinctive caution. It might have been insulting if it weren't for the fact that _they_ didn't trust Kepler either and had were near to dismissing him.

He was an excellent driver, though, and had his uses. They wouldn't even consider dumping such a valuable recourse if it weren't for the fact that he was argumentative and unstable in other situations. Of course Two-Face themselves were, by most counts, unstable. Mostly it was true.

They were, however, in control over their actions. If there was a dispute, they tossed the coin. They functioned, they commanded, they knew what they were doing and when. They were less unstable, and more unpredictable. You never knew what would change one personality for the other, or what would happen when that change took place.

They were far more dangerous that Kepler could ever hope to be. So why could she do what doctors, psychiatrists, and Bruce Wayne couldn't? Why could this sane, pint-sized nobody look at him without hate or pity? There was nothing special about her, nothing magical or astonishing, but when she looked at him it was with unruffled acceptance.

And it was beginning to piss him off.

"Why can you look at me and not be sick? Doctors twice your age can't do that, so why can you?"

Once slim eyebrow rose and the gray eyes flickered over his face. Her head tilted just slightly as she thought carefully over her answer, just as she had before. He was discovering that Rin did not say things carelessly. Small hands reached up to touch the pendant, stroking across its surface.

"A scar isn't enough to make me sick. I've seen worse."

Harvey's face went dark and his body tensed. Grace had said something similar to him once, _after _fainting at the sight of him. _It's only a scar, Harvey_. And when he had tried to kiss her she had recoiled.

It was taking all his strength to keep Harv at bay. Up until this point his other half had been intrigued by the girl who hadn't backed down even when he had threatened to shoot her _and_ her friend if she didn't back off.

_I want to see if she'll try to back her words._ Harvey snapped at his counterpart. Damned if she hadn't shown spine up until now.

_**What the hell for? **_Harv demanded. _**This kid isn't going to be any different than your precious Grace?**_

_If she does, we'll classify it as making a fuss and our oral contract with her is off. You'll get to mistreat her accordingly anyway._

_**Or we classify it as causing trouble now and save me your whining when the lying little bitch freaks. **_ Repulsion to Harvey was, of course, repulsion at Harv as well. His other side didn't handle rejection any better than Harvey, and it was a small miracle that Grace was still alive.

Growling, Harvey pulled the coin from his pocket and flipped it. Good heads, he thought with mild satisfaction. His eyes drifted over to her as the coin returned to it's resting place. She was sitting very still, watching him with those strange gray eyes.

His mouth twisted into a sneer, "Care to prove that?"

"How?"

He thought of Grace shuttering when the blistered mess of his hand had touched her skin, of how she had pushed at him and turned her face away. Rin was younger than his ex, young and pretty, and not as resolute as she appeared to be. He would break her. He would break the thin shell of indifference and he would see fear.

"Kiss me."

Surprise flickered across Rin's pixie-features and for a moment she sat very still._ Different than taking my hand in the dark, isn't it? Different when you can see. _

He was astonished when she stood up with her features utterly calm and stepped toward him. She braced her hands on his chest as she leaned down and, without reluctance, pressed her mouth gently to his. The kiss was quiet, chaste, and the softest thing he had felt in years.

Then came the fire.

Heat seared his chest where her hands pressed over his shirt, where his mouth connected to hers. He pulled her down before she could break the contact, one hand wrapping around her waist while the opposite burrowed into her hair. His mouth moved over hers roughly, and was met with the same fervor.

Her taste was intoxicating, and he drank her in hungrily. The heat spread, coiling through in a way it never had before. She was soft, responsive, and each small sigh and sound made the fire burn higher than before.

Fingers caressed along his jaw, down his neck, leaving a burning trail in their wake. They pressed to the hollow of his throat where his own hand covered them, anchoring them against his skin. He broke this kiss with a growl, breathing hard.

Rin's pretty face was flushed and her lips were parted just slightly. The fire in him burned just as high in her, and there was no fear or shame in the gray depths that stared back at him. He wanted to kiss her again, needed to, but a nearby sound caught his attention.

His gaze snapped over to see one of the twins, Fred, looking carefully away from the scene. Business, damn. A growl built in his throat as his soon-to-be-hurt employee informed him of a matter that needed his attention.

His vision dimmed as his other side took control. Harv moved Rin off his lap and stood, towering over her with one hand wrapped loosely around her bicep. He guided her back to the chair she had vacated and pushed her onto it, crouching down so they were eye-level.

She knew, they both realized in unison. She recognized the switch, or suspected it. Harv grinned, an expression that was more feral than anything and when he spoke their voice had more gravel in it,

"When we get back it's _my_ turn."

When he returned it was at a run and with the sound of gunfire behind him.

* * *

Chapter 2 done. Harvey's perspective this time, which was extremely hard to do. I'm almost scared to do a chapter through Harv's eyes, but I might. Things start getting good in the next chapter, which is back to Rin's POV


	3. Fall

Accidental Attraction: Fall

* * *

This night, Rin had finally decided, was at the top of her ten weirdest occurrences list. The reigning champion had been the night that she had woken up to find Jamie and Taz passed out in her dorm room dressed head to toe in pink. She still couldn't remember what had led up to that, but she maintained the photographic evidence of the phenomenon.

Getting kidnapped from a girl's night out, making out with her kidnapper, then standing point at gunpoint between him and Batman… well that just blew Taz's pink pedicure right out of the water. At least she _knew,_ roughly, how this night had been brought into being.

Rin did not care much for clubs anymore and so she had been resistant to the idea of a night on the town. Though she would occasionally acquiesce to attend a party, because the opportunity to dance was a weakness easily exploited, she tried to draw her line at public nightclubs.

It was, however, Katrina's birthday and that had quelled any argument Rin might have attempted. The club had been surprisingly high class, and it had increased Rin's subtle suspicion about Katrina's dubious origins that she had gotten them in without so much as an ID check.

She had dressed to the nines in a tight little black dress and strappy high-heeled shoes that gave her an extra three inches. She had felt sexy and confident. For the first time in two years she had let herself get caught up in the moment and simply _forget. _

How long had they been there before gunfire had sent panic rippling through the crowd? Rin would never be certain, but it was long enough for Katrina to slip away from her. More anxious than outright afraid, she had pushed her way across the dance floor toward what had been their table.

She had just found Katrina, safe and frightened, when the music died and the crowd went abruptly silent. The hushed dancers started shifting, creating a path that twisted toward the stage as the sea of people swallowed them.

With the grace of a wolf stalking its prey, Harvey Dent strode through the parted dancers, casually flipping his trademark coin. Flanked on either side by burly masked men who trained their firearms into the crowed in obvious warning. He ignored both the crowd and his goons as he mounted the steps to the stage and turned to faced the terrified crowd.

It wasn't fear that had sent a shiver down her spine when she'd heard the rasping, gravel toned voice for the first time. He ordered the crowd to sit, immediately, on the floor where they were. They would shortly be giving up any valuables they possessed and any resistors would be shot without warning.

Any complaints to these demands could be forwarded to their esteemed host, Rupert Thorn. A light went off in Rin's head and she had goggled at Katrina as they obediently sank to the floor. She had suspected Trina of potential mob connections before but she hadn't expected _Thorn_.

The apparent heist suddenly made sense. It was a well-known fact that the former district attorney positively _despised_ Rupert Thorn as the man responsible for his disfigurement and the subsequent revelation of his mental condition. It also explained why Katrina was shaking like a leaf.

The next bit of time blurred together in a muddle of crying women, threats, gunshots, and the distant wail of police sirens. She wasn't sure exactly if it was the abject terror radiating off of Trina that had caught his eye or just shit luck. Time seemed to freeze when he pulled Trina up to use as a traveling hostage.

Two years of companionship sped through her mind; Trina's graduation, wedding, all night study sessions and shopping trips. She thought of the baby, the life that was so new it hadn't even begun to change it's mother's body. She thought of the man who didn't yet know he was a father, the kind man who had never begrudged Rin time with his new wife.

For a moment, when Trina's terrified eyes met hers, Rin saw James looking back at her. Rin stood and brought her gaze unhesitatingly to his. "Take me instead, I won't give you trouble." He had stared at her as though she had grown a second head.

Gray stayed steady on blue when he had trained the gun on her and stated that he could just as easily shoot her and take 'blondie' anyway. Somewhere deep inside of her amusement had stirred and she wanted to start laughing. _Pull the trigger._

"I won't snivel or cry." She said quietly, "I'll do exactly as you say and not try to escape."

"If I promise not to hurt you, right?" He snorted,

_Pull the trigger. _

"Just take me instead of Trina, I don't need any other reassurance."

_Pull the Trigger._

With the gun still aimed at her face, he flipped the coin. His face twitched oddly and there was a strange, subtle shift in his features. The gun lowered and his voice seemed different when he ordered his men to drop Trina.

As his hand had wrapped like a manacle around her arm he had growled, "Don't piss us off and we probably won't hurt you." A pleasant shiver had coursed down her spine.

Despite careful deliberation on the matter she couldn't quite figure out just how she had gone from that to making out with him. Nor could she entirely understand the profound effect he had on her. Never in her life had a simple kiss made her insides quiver, or her breath stop.

It couldn't be a good sign.

Really, though, the thought that something was deeply wrong with her wasn't exactly breaking news. Jamie's death had, in many ways, been her own. Maybe things would be different if it hadn't been her fault, or if she hadn't _seen_ him that way.

Perhaps the way and reason made no difference at all. Either way, she hadn't been quit right since she had woken up in the hospital. No amount of time would heal this wound. Nothing would bring Jamie back.

But that was more than a year past now, and beside the point. Which was, of course, that Harvey Dent had managed to batter his way past all of her carefully constructed barriers and create feelings in her that Matthew with his beautiful face and perfect lips hadn't managed in twice the time.

Of course that was before he had dragged her to the roof.

Two-Face's left arm was snugly around her shoulders, the barrel of his gun jammed behind her ear, and across from them stood The Batman himself. It would have been very exiting if not for the sickly waves of fear that froze her stomach into knots.

Her breath came in panicked little gasps and she gripped the arm around her shoulders with both still-bound hands. Her heart beat like a hammer in her chest and she couldn't find the will to swallow. Each time she tried to look down the world swam strangely, but every time she shut her eyes she saw Jamie staring back at her.

Oh she didn't want to die like that. Two-Face was talking to batman, but she couldn't focus on the words. She tried to focus on Batman. On the one who would, hopefully, be instrumental to getting her the hell off the roof. It didn't help.

"Don't worry, Sweetheart, he'll probably catch you." Two-Face rumbled suddenly into her ear, mouth just brushing against her skin. For a moment she was confused, then one large hand moved to grip her pendant and the other gave her a solid shove.

Oh shit! No, no, _no!_

She swung out awkwardly on the chain and met his eyes for only a second before the thin metal snapped and she was falling. Gray surrounded her vision and she could see Jamie's eyes staring up at her, wide and empty, and the blood spread around him like red lace against the snow.

* * *

I was going to write more… and then I thought… why? Lets leave it riiiiight here for a while. Tee hee. So that's how Rin came to be in this mess.

I wonder if anyone is questioning who Jamie is, as he has come up a few times, and what he was to Rin. I'm especially curious to hear theories, as he is rather the catalyst to everything that's happened since his unfortunate demise.


	4. Decision

Disclaimer: Standard Disclaimer Applies

* * *

Accidental Attraction: Decision

* * *

Two-Face sat behind a huge antique oak desk, in a plush and tastefully decorated office. He lounged back kicking his feet up beside the shiny black keyboard, and watched the light play of the delicate silver pendant as he rolled the broken chain between his fingers.

It wasn't a fancy or expensive piece though the silver was of excellent quality and the engraving beautifully done. He wasn't sure entirely why he had taken the thing. It wasn't worth much to sell and did nothing to assuage the fervent… inclination he seemed to have for its strange young owner.

Yet he had taken, and kept it, and carried it with him in his inner breast pocket with his coin.

He let the charm rest against the heel of his palm and studied the delicate, flowing script etched into the metal. The words were known to memory now, yet he studied each side with the same intense scrutiny he had given it that first evening.

_J.T.L_

_ No more tears now_

_ I will think of Revenge _

Beneath the quote, the pendant's only other decoration, was an embossed Treble and Bass Clef. He had not noticed this detail when she had worn the pendant, and assumed that this side had lain against her skin. Absently he ran his thumb over the relief before shifting the necklace and reading the other side.

_M.S.E_

_ No place indeed _

_ Should murder sancturize_

_ Revenge should have no bounds _

There was no symbol beneath the inscription, a quote he recognized from _Hamlet_. A very personalized item, and though not particularly expensive by his standards, it would likely stretch the budget of a waitress and part-time university student. Certainly something she had before she had relocated to Gotham and, he was certain, became Rinslet Anne Lyre.

"What are you hiding from, little girl?" He murmured to the silver oval.

Despite media speculation, Two-Face had been present and aware _long_ before their painful disfiguration. He had been there through GCU and Harvard. He had seen all the cases that Harvey participated in, looked into the eyes of victim, witness, every accuser and every accused.

There was something in Rin's eyes that he could not identify. Something that was familiar, foreign, and haunting all at the same time. She had eyes that were older than the rest of her, even Harvey had noticed that. They were eyes that had seen things no person should see.

Hell, what else but extreme trauma could make a woman like that able to look him in the face without a flinch?

Woman, ha, she was hardly more than a kid. Barely twenty-three _if_ the age her current records offered were accurate.

With an irritated sigh, he tossed the pendant onto his desk and pulled out their coin. For the first time, ever, he and Harvey were actually agreeing on something, and it was distinctly uncomfortable for both of them.

They wanted to see her.

Though their substantial bank account could buy the companionship of a young woman, it could not purchase a tolerable reaction to their dual visage. So while Harvey had reservations about pulling this young beauty into their dark world… willing company was something even he couldn't quite pass up.

And Two-Face, who would usually mock his counterpart for his lack of reserve, was wholly unwilling to risk losing a coin toss. It was a very precarious truce, and one neither liked to dwell on for very long.

Now all that was left to decide was when to approach her. They had been, by Harvey's definition, stalking her for nearly a month. Two-Face maintained that watching her at her work and through her apartment windows was hardly stalking. Now, were he to call her in the middle of the night only to hang up without saying anything… well that might be on the narrow edge of stalking.

Hell.

Needing no urging from his other half, Harvey flipped the coin and caught it deftly.

Now, would they see her tonight or wait another week?

* * *

Author's Note: Sorry that took so long. Busy couple months. This chapter and the next one are short because they are a kind of filler chapter. Harv and Rin's perspectives right after the heist, and right before they have contact again.

I think Harv hasn't quite convinced himself that he's really _not_ stalking her. Wonder what Rin's opinion on it will be.


	5. Shanghaied

Accidental Attraction: Shanghaied

* * *

_He lay surrounded by white, in old jeans and a tee-shirt that was in bad need of replacement. His arms, covered in bloody lacerations, were spread in greeting. The hair that had long needed cutting was wet and plastered around the face that was rapidly turning a strange blue-gray. _

_ His eyes were open, staring up at her with empty accusation and his slack mouth twitched and moved oddly, forming words in a voice that lacked both emotion and inflection, _

_ "It should have been you." _

Frigid water struck her face, running down her arms to gather in droplets at her elbows. Another handful followed swiftly, and a third, before weary gray eyes tipped up to focus on the reflection in the grubby mirror.

Pale skin gleamed oddly in the lambent florescent light, making it look lifeless and cold, corpselike. Dark circles rimmed eyes that were as intense as they were guarded. The dark red hair was caught back from her face with a narrow plastic headband barely revealing the thin, pale scar that danced across the edge of her hairline.

Rin stepped back from the mirror with a sigh and, turning, began to undo the buttons at the front of the short fifties-style diner dress that made up her uniform. The ladies room was the only back room that retained a working heater, and so it was not terribly uncomfortable to pull the garment over her head and force it onto a coat hook in the restroom's biggest stall.

Almost a full month had passed since Batman had plucked her unconscious form out of the air, and she was intensely grateful that the media spotlight had only centered on her for a short time. She had been eclipsed by the double escape of Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, and that had soon been eclipsed by the escape of the Joker. She was, to her utter delight, old news.

And yet the aftershocks were still making her life hell.

Her aversion to heights, and falling from them, was her personal Achilles heel. Over the last few years she had periodically tried to overcome that particular weakness and only succeeded to resurrect some form of _that _familiar nightmare. It wasn't the least bit surprising that her abrupt back dive had brought it back, stronger and more vivid than ever before.

While twisted visions of the past were fairly common, seeing them during the day was new.

Then again, she mused as stepped into her jeans, becoming so fervently affected by a scarred mob boss who _talked to himself_ was also a new development. She hadn't decided if the latter of the two were a sign of impending insanity or simply the onset of Stockholm Syndrome, and wasn't entirely sure which one she wanted it to be. The correct answer, she figured, was _neither._

So far her favorite choice was _none of the above_.

That simple indecision was strangely more frightening to her than the fact that her nightmares were becoming daytime visions. Before Matthew, her reaction to the few boys she had dated had always been, well, shallow. After Matthew… she hadn't wanted to let anyone close enough to make her feel that way again.

Now it was made apparent that what she had thought was fiery passion, was really only a mild flicker in comparison to the inferno that Harvey had created in her. The thought was both utterly terrifying and absolutely exhilarating

She sighed as she pulled her shirt on, missing the familiar feel of her pendant around her neck. Bad enough he had to throw her off the roof, but he didn't have to take her necklace to boot. It had been Jamie's last gift to her, and she'd had to fight Taz tooth and nail to get it engraved after his death. If he didn't already know about her abduction, and she fervently hoped he didn't, she would be hard pressed to explain its absence in a way that would not send him into conniptions.

Honestly, _he_ had been the one to suggest Gotham City over Metropolis. He should have considered the risk of an encounter of some degree with one of the city's high profile criminals. She should be glad that he still cared, all things considered, but his tendency toward hysterics were unbecoming in a six foot five football player.

Irritated with herself, she pulled a black fitted tee shirt over the red long sleeved shirt she already had on and leaned her back against the wall to pull on her favorite ankle boots. Suitably clothed, she wound a red and gray striped scarf around her neck and pulled the cheap headband from her hair. She folded her uniform with more care than the garment deserved and tucked it into her messenger bag with her schoolbooks.

Levering the strap over her head she maneuvered her way out of the bathroom, waved to her coworkers, and slipped out the door into the gloomy mid November evening.

Rin glanced around as her feet crossed from cheap linoleum to damp cement. A habit formed from a time when she could barely step out her door without running into run of Jamie's friends come to rant and curse and blame her for a situation she should have prevented. It was also a fairly useless gesture, as she rarely cared to notice what was around her anymore. For the time being, Jamie's entourage didn't know where she was.

Funny how death brought the truth to the surface, she'd once thought they were her friends too.

It was also funny what she would dredge up just to keep from thinking of him… them… of Two-Face. He had escaped capture, barely, and had not been featured in the media since. She was glad she had her own apartment now, and did not have to come up with an excuse as to why she watched the news more frequently than she ever had.

She could barely admit to herself that she was hoping to see him. She really didn't want to admit it to Trina.

The cold bit through her clothing, making her shiver slightly as she walked. She almost missed long hair as the rush of traffic kept a constant breeze on her back. The scarf helped, and she was glad that Trina had bothered to buy it for her.

The thought of Trina made her smirk. Her friend had been slightly resentful that Rin had figured her connection to Thorn and had stalwartly refused to speak on the matter. The vehemence of her denial had been all the confirmation Rin needed, and she'd let the matter drop passively. When Thanksgiving came, she thought with glee, she would be armed and ready for Trina's holiday push for Rin to contact her family.

She couldn't entirely begrudge Trina her pestering. All she knew of the situation was what Rin had told her… and much of that had been fiction. Though she and Katrina hadn't been close at the time, she couldn't imagine that her friend would be extremely pleased about the lies. The truth was to complicated and to painful for Rin to contemplate telling anyone.

She knew now that Trina wasn't judgmental or flighty, and she certainly no gossip. She could tell Trina she had wound up necking with Gotham City's former district attorney, without fear that her friend would go into an unreasonable panic and cart her off to the first psychologist she could find. She had no intention of revealing that particular piece of information, but it was nice to know that she _could_.

Of course, intentions were one thing and practical application of them was entirely another. No amount of distraction could keep her from thinking of that kiss for very long, and each time she did she would feel her body react in ways it never had before. The council of a friend might not be so unwelcome.

She shook her head as though to clear the thoughts out of it when she noticed the movement out of the corner of her eye. Her eyes darted over to watch the shiny black SUV smoothly pull to the curb, and took an unconscious step to the right as the passenger door opened and carrot-top man in a dark suit stepped out.

He had a friendly face, though not exactly handsome, with freckles splashed across his nose and cheeks. He smiled at her as he approached, and it was too late that she noticed the driver had also exited the vehicle and circled around behind her.

"Miss Lyre?" The man ahead of her grinned widely, holding his hands open and empty in front of her, "Please don't be alarmed, we're not going to hurt you."

"What the hell do you want then?" She snapped, keeping her spine straight and her face determined. He was watchful, and Rin figured that she would not be able to outrun him.

"Our boss just wants to talk to you, that's all." Said the figure behind her, and turning she saw the identical copy of the first man. An odd feeling curled in her stomach as they flanked her, each taking a firm hold of one arm and led her to the back door of the car.

"Please watch your head Miss Lyre." The first man said as he pulled open the door. She didn't respond as she was gently, but firmly, shoved into the vehicle.

* * *

Short, yes, but intentionally so. This chapter, like the last, was only meant to fill in how Rin has been after her kidnapping and right before her reunion with Two-Face.

Actually I have three versions of this chapter on my computer, which is also why it took so long to post. I kept starting and getting stuck until this finally emerged from the mess. I am irrationally pleased with it, considering it's size. Though she has yet to be actually featured; I find I am liking Trina's character more and more. We'll see if that holds when I actually have to write her.


	6. Reunion

Accidental Attraction: Reuniton

* * *

The inside of the car was plush cream colored leather and it smelled of expensive cologne and tobacco; a sharp, exotic combination that coursed over her memory like wildfire. She knew instantly who owned the car, and who sat carefully concealed in shadow on the seat beside her. Even without the light that slanted across the front of his two-toned suit.

"Hello, Mr. Dent." Rin murmured softly, flipping the strap of her bag over her shoulder and setting it down on the floorboard. She angled herself in the seat so she could look at him, noting that he seemed so much larger in the small space. He didn't move or speak, making it impossible to guess which side of the man she was dealing with.

His scarred hand moved rhythmically, flipping that infamous coin into the air and catching it in a consistent _pint, ping, ping_.

His twin goons (because they were too scrawny to be considered thugs, at least to her mind) reentered traffic with barely a hitch and began to head downtown as smoothly as Gotham traffic would allow. Rin folded her hands into her lap, finding some security in the rough denim covering her legs. This time at least she was dressed in something more… well, _more_. She wished he would speak, or that the flunkies in the front would chatter about something. Rin was used to silence, but she was desperate for something more than the sounds of the car and the coin to distract her from the dominating presence beside her.

"It's raining." She didn't jump when he spoke, and she gave herself a silent kudos on that fact. His voice was deeper than she remembered, more guttural. She had a sense that he was disappointed, though she wasn't sure. Her next statement was out before she could prevent it, or decide whether or not she really wanted to respond.

"We're going to start with the weather, seriously?"

He snorted, caught the coin but didn't send it flipping again. Something about his voice, the sound and cadence of it, had loosened something inside of her. Like some sort of knot that had begun to uncoil. The more he spoke, the more it seemed to disentangle.

"You're dripping on my upholstery."

"Oh, that." She smiled, "Well, it's raining."

His face shifted toward her slightly and she was nearly certain she could make out a slight smirk on the smooth half of his face. She was relieved to see him again. So much so, in fact, that she really didn't care that _relief_ was not the sane or correct emotion to associate with the man who abducted her (twice) and threw her off a roof.

The coin flipped again and was regarded with serious scrutiny before disappearing into the inner breast pocket of the black half of his suit. She felt the skin on her arms prickle when he lounged back; one arm resting on the back of the seat with his hand beside her ear, the other removed a cigarette from somewhere inside his jacket and brought it to his lips. She could see him a bit better now, though he still seemed to be angling himself in the deepest shadows of the small space.

Would it be rude to ask which of them she was talking with? Hell, how did she even distinguish them? She couldn't very well go on calling him- them- Mr. Dent. Calling him Two-Face just felt strange for some reason, rather like calling him Mr. Dent only with different words. It encompassed all of him, both sides, and sounded more sinister.

"You have fifteen minutes to get ready."

"E-Excuse me?" she stiffened, wondering if she had missed something while she'd been lost in thought.

Two-Face chuckled deeply, and nodded toward the windshield where her tenement sat squat and troll-like within its border of cracked cement, broken street lamps, and overfull dumpsters. Rin didn't feel particularly embarrassed about the place. It wasn't the worst place she'd lived in since coming to Gotham and while the inside was as drab and, frankly, depressing as the inside; it was cheap and fairly clean. No vermin and no bugs.

"Fifteen minutes." He said slowly, "To get ready."

"I…" She hesitated, "Can I have twenty?"

Without a word he fished the coin from his pocked and flipped it. Rin wished desperately that the light in the damn car allowed her to see his face. It would be very nice to know whether he was looking pissed or not. He studied the result of the coin toss a moment before nodding to her, "Twenty."

"Thank you." She grabbed the strap of her bag and paused, suddenly unsure about what was happening. He hadn't said _dry off_, he had said _get ready_. "What am I getting ready for, exactly?"

Two-Face slid close to her on the seat, invading her space as he reached across her lap to grasp the handle of the door. His breath whispered over her hear and his scent engulfed her when he leaned close and said,

"I think you'll figure that out, Princess." He opened the door, "Now, get out."

* * *

You can blame Little Angel Ko for the cliffy. She's the one that said "No, stop it there and make for sufferings."

In any case, huzzah for posting. I have no excuses except a hefty writers block on this story and being distracted by other entertainments. Apologies all around but it happens. In any case, I've a pretty good line on the next chapter and hopefully it won't take quite so long to write out.


End file.
